1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a splash pan of a pottery wheel and a pottery wheel provided with the same and, more specifically, to a splash pan arranged to cover the bottom and side areas of a turntable of a pottery wheel and a pottery wheel provided with the splash pan.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known, e.g., a pottery wheel including a splash pan arranged to cover the bottom and side areas of a turntable of the pottery wheel. The splash pan includes a plurality of split dish members split in a circumferential direction and provided with a concave portion for storage of clay. The split dish members can be separably connected to each other by moving them in a horizontal direction. The split dish members include two pieces, namely a first split dish member having boss portions formed within the concave portion and a second split dish member having engagement recesses formed within the concave portion in radial positions corresponding to the boss portions. The engagement recesses are opened toward the boss portions and engageable with the boss portions (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-74801).
Since the conventional pottery wheel is of the type in which the boss portions (of the first split dish member) and the engagement recesses (of the second split dish member) provided within the concave portion for storage of clay are engaged with each other, the boss portions and the engagement recesses are worn by clay or other causes. This reduces the coupling force and broadens the gap between the joint areas of the split dish members. Consequently, it is sometimes the case that clay or water collected within the concave portion is leaked through the joint areas of the first and second split dish members, thereby making the support base or the lathe body dirty.